Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], October 20 (ANI): Congress leaders staged a protest at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate on Tuesday, demanding the registration of a Zero FIR over the alleged assault on NSUI National Secretary Ritu Barala by female police personnel during a demonstration in Delhi.
The leaders alleged that the police had refused to register the complaint at Moti Dungri police station and sought the intervention of senior officials.
Congress MLA Amin Kagzi criticised the BJP government over its alleged silence on the incident, questioning the response of the Chief Minister and other party leaders.
Kagzi said, “Today, our daughter is being subjected to brutality and mistreatment, but where is the government? Where are the leaders who once chanted, ‘Nahi Sahega Rajasthan’?.. Regarding the horrific brutality inflicted upon a daughter here in Rajasthan, not a single BJP leader, Minister, or the Chief Minister has offered a response. It has been 18 hours now, and in all this time, not a single word has been spoken by them. Let it be known that the Opposition is strong. The Legislative Assembly will address this, and the courts will take cognisance as well. Every single Congress worker is prepared to uproot and cast aside this Bharatiya Janata Party government.”
Rafiq Khan, Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, alleged that the police had accepted the complaint but refused to formally register it. He said the delegation subsequently approached the Police Commissionerate to seek action.
“We took Ritu Barala’s FIR to the Moti Dungri police station. They accepted the document and provided us with a copy bearing their counter-signature; however, the officer-in-charge refused to formally register it… We asserted that our request was entirely lawful; we were not seeking any special favors, but rather exercising our rights… The officer-in-charge replied that he could not provide an answer and that the Commissioner would respond. We then proceeded to the Commissionerate. We met with the Additional Commissioner,” he said.
“The Commissioner himself was not present; we were asked to wait… Why is there a need to consult higher authorities for a matter that is clearly in accordance with the law?… I call upon the High Court to take cognizance of this matter. The police personnel present here are well aware that the government is acting wrongly and perpetrating an injustice. This report must be registered; it is both lawful and just. If you still refuse to register it, the entire Congress party will mobilize, not just in Jaipur, but across the whole of Rajasthan, and there will be a massive outcry. They will have to answer for this. You cannot adopt a dual policy,” he added.
State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra said the delegation was waiting at the Commissionerate after being asked to approach senior officials for the registration of the Zero FIR. He cited Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in support of the demand.
“We aren’t sitting here on a ‘protest’. We are sitting here following their own instructions. Our legal team and our leader went to the Moti Doongri police station to get a ‘zero FIR’ registered. At the Moti Doongri station, we were told that we would have to submit an application to the Commissioner. When we arrived to see the Commissioner, he wasn’t there; Additional Commissioner Rameshwar Singh was present. We pointed out that under Section 173(1) of the BNSS, a ‘zero FIR’ must be registered… He asked us to wait in room number nine, saying he would consult with his superiors and get back to us. Who exactly he’s consulting, Amit Shah, the Delhi Police Commissioner, Bhajanlal Sharma, PM Modi, or perhaps even God, I have no idea. So far, they haven’t answered our calls, nor have they given us any response… We are simply sitting here, waiting,” he said.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also joined a Congress delegation led by State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate.
The alleged assault on NSUI National Secretary Ritu Barala by female Delhi Police personnel occurred during a “vote theft” demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi.
The controversy comes amid allegations of police brutality against NSUI activists during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi.
On Friday, NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar claimed that he and several party workers had been detained at different police stations in the national capital. In a post on X, Jakhar said the detentions would not deter the organisation from raising its voice against alleged police brutality against women and protesting against the Centre.
Earlier, Delhi Police detained NSUI workers protesting outside Parliament Street Police Station over the alleged assault on activists and the alleged failure to register an FIR in the matter.
Athira Vijayan, a Delhi University law student and NSUI activist from Kozhikode district in Kerala, also alleged that police personnel assaulted her during the protest near Connaught Place on October 13.
According to her complaint, she sustained injuries. She alleged that she and other protesters were taken into custody, transported in a bus to Connaught Place, forcibly dragged out, and assaulted on a public street. (ANI)
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